The SONIC Lab at Northwestern University is excited to announce the publication of our latest paper: “Modeling the ‘who’ and ‘how’ of social influence in the adoption of health practices” , now out in Social Networks!
Co-authored by Neelam Modi, Johan Koskinen, Leslie DeChurch, and Noshir Contractor
Using rich social network and behavioral data from two Kenyan communities, this study finds that mere exposure to adopters isn’t enough. What really matters is who talks about a practice and how they talk about it. Persuasive conversations, especially among close friends and family, significantly increase uptake. Interestingly, the most commonly used messages aren’t always the most effective.